The Sacrifice
by Riddle272
Summary: This takes place 10 years after Malus' bad ending in CastleVania64. Malus kidnaps Carrie and plans to use her as a sacrifice to obtain her powers. A somewhat sequel to my other story, The Chronicles Of Malus.


The Sacrifice  
  
  
  
Disclaimer & Authors note: I do not own CastleVania. And to my dismay, I do not own Malus, Carrie, Reignhardt, Henry, or anyone else you might happen to see in this story.   
  
This happens to be a short story I composed out of a very short dream sequence I had. Had it not been for such a dream and such a cliffhanger that I couldn't bare to see go to waste, I can safely say that this would never have been written.   
  
This is story somewhat the after-ending to the Bad Ending in my original story, The Chronicles of Malus.   
  
Unfortunately, I couldn't upload The Chronicles, because it's font sensitive(I had to take the wonderfully nice fonts out of this story too...) and it's a lot longer (50 pages).   
  
I uploaded it on my webpage, so you can read and review it there: http://freewebs.com/riddle272/riddled.htm I hope you enjoy this little piece I put together, and remember I always like reviews and comments *hint*.  
  
Carrie's heart beat fast as she ran down the long hallway. She ran as fast as she could, because she knew he was faster. Much faster. She came to a deadend, and ran inside the door to the left. She shut the door quickly and blocked the entrance. No sooner than she had, the doorknob turned.  
  
"Why do you run from me?" A voice said.  
  
Carrie quivered. She quivered at the sound of this voice for ten years. A dark voice that was as sinister and depressing as its owner.  
  
"Leave me alone!" Carrie yelled back. "I know what your plan is!"  
  
He continued to try the doorknob. "Carrie, open this door now!"  
  
"Never!"  
  
Carrie struggled to barricade the door as he rammed into it. The third time she was nearly thrown forward. She regained her balance and looked around the room for something, anything to help her dire situation. The room was empty except for a few pieces of furniture that were very heavy to move. She closed her eyes and prayed for a miracle. As though her prayers were answered, the crashing stopped. Carrie could now hear why. A pair of footsteps walked from further down the hall. Someone else was here...  
  
"You can't stay in there forever." The voice outside the door said. "Sooner or later, your time will come..."   
  
With that said, he went to investigate the strange footsteps. Carrie let out a long sigh of relief and slid down onto the floor. She couldn't hide from Malus forever, but what could she do? A drowsy feeling washed over her and numbed her senses. She recalled faint memories of what had happened. She remembered figuring out that Malus was Dracula all along and that she had hidden from him. She was caught and given a narcotic injection, but managed to escape from him again. Now she sat calmly, trapped waiting for her demise. Carrie heard footsteps returning to her hiding spot. She stretched her numbed fingers slowly. She couldn't let Malus have her magical powers. The world would be doomed. She would kill herself to make sure that didn't happen. Summoning the last of her energy, she got up and slammed into the wall ahead of her. She rebounded and fell back onto the floor. Carrie got up and tried her act of suicide again. The footsteps drew closer and closer to the door... Carrie tried again. The door burst open and Reignhardt stood at its entrance.   
  
"Carrie!"  
  
Carrie turned around and blinked in confusion before collapsing to the floor. Reignhardt ran over to Carrie and shook her shoulder.  
  
"Wake up! Come on, Carrie!"  
  
Her eyes finally fluttered open. She squinted up at Reignhardt as if distinguishing him from Malus.  
  
"...Reignhardt Schneider?" She asked finally.  
  
"Yes. At least you're thinking properly." He said. "Are you wounded?"  
  
"...Don't think so..." She managed to mutter. "How are you here?"  
  
"Ha-ha, actually that was a retorical question. You are wounded." Reignhardt said starting to bandage Carrie's head and other shoulder. He continued, seeing that Carrie wasn't in the mood for a joke. "You telegramed me for help, remember? I found this." He held up an empty syringe. "Malus must have given you some type of tranquilizer to put you asleep...and I see it's working."  
  
Carrie's eyes closed and she was still.  
  
"At least I hope you're asleep..." Reignhardt said quietly as he finished bandaging her. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here."  
  
"I do not think so, Belmont."  
  
Reignhardt looked up and saw Malus standing by the door. He had last seen him a year ago, but it was in a ten year period that he had changed. He had become much taller and there was a certain dark aura about him that Reignhardt couldn't place, besides his voice. By his apperance, once could only guess that he could be Dracula.  
  
"You were after Carrie's powers all along weren't you?" Reignhardt said.  
  
"Indeed." He stepped closer and Reignhardt drew his vampire killer whip.  
  
"If you want her, you'll have to fight me first!"  
  
"Your time will come..." Malus said. He held out his hand and sent a force of electricity towards Reignhardt, who was knocked into the wall. He struggled to his feet and rubbed his head, but by the time he had come to his senses, Malus and Carrie were gone.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
It was a dark and stormy night in Wallachia. Coincidentally, all stories have "dark and stormy night" when something terrible is to happen, but that is not the point of this story. Reignhardt knocked on Lord Henry's door only to find that there was no answer. He knocked again. No answer. After the third knock and another no answer, he had given up. Reignhardt posted a note on the door before hurrying off towards CastleVania:  
  
Henry,  
  
Carrie has been kidnapped by her ever-so-wonderful husband. I am heading to CastleVania to search for her. Your help is greatly appreciated.  
  
Reignhardt  
  
It didn't take Reignhardt long to reach the castle keep as it did the last time. For one reason, there weren't nearly as many demons as before, and most of the entrances and gates were already open. Still, he prepared for the worst. In the castle keep, he found Carrie lying on the steps near Dracula's old coffin. Apparently, she was still asleep. Or so Reignhardt thought.... Inevitably, Malus teleported to stand beside her, hovering a few inches above the ground.  
  
"You have returned again, Belmont? Carrie must mean something to you..."  
  
"Carrie is my friend," Reignhardt said "and I will not abandon her. If you do not let her go, I will be forced to kill you."  
  
Malus grimaced. "I promised Carrie that I would protect her, and that is what I shall do."  
  
"But will you protect her from yourself?" Reignhardt asked. "You only promised that to take her powers!"  
  
Malus landed onto the ground. "But I already have her powers..."  
  
Before Reignhardt could answer, Malus struck out his hand. Even though he had not been touched physically, Reignhardt had taken the hit and was nearly knocked backwards. Before he could recover, Malus pummeled him hard again, keeping a considerable distance, making it nearly impossible to hit him. He had managed to knock Reignhardt far enough to send him tumbling down the castle keep stairwell. Reignhardt grabbed onto the side of the narrow stairs, before plunging a thousand feet to his death. He hung there for a moment to catch his breath. Reignhardt blinked the rain out of his eyes and looked up to see Malus standing on the stairwell with a malious smirk, daring Reignhardt to climb back up. Lightning flashed, making him look more terrifying than ever. Reignhardt tried to get a better grip on the stairwell, but his hand was kicked away by Malus.  
  
"Why are you doing this, Malus?" Reignhardt asked.   
  
"You never knew Malus..." He sneered quietly. "The one you are after died a long time ago because of your negligence..." Malus reached into his black coat pocket and like magic, he slowly pulled out a sword. "Now you will understand the pain and agony he went through..."  
  
Two gun fires echoed into the air. Malus flinched. He held his wounded arm and looked a few inches down the steps.  
  
"You!" He hissed.  
  
Henry shot twice again. This time, Malus' sword dropped down the stairs with a loud clang! and fell below. On the final two shots, he fell onto the steps, dead.   
  
Henry reloaded his gun as he climbed the stairs, then aimed at Malus incase he was to move.  
  
"He may have been Dracula," Henry said "but he certaintly wasn't immortal."  
  
"That's a good sign..." Reignhardt managed to say. He climbed back onto the stairs and wiped a trickle of blood from his forehead. "Thanks for that. Now lets go help Carrie."  
  
Carrie lay in the same spot as before. The color had drained from her face and her hands were slightly cold. Her chest rose and fell slowly every ten seconds.  
  
"She's still alive." Reignhardt muttered. "But her breathing is quite slow. We should find help as soon as we can."  
  
Henry nodded. As they turned to the doorway, they were surprised to see a certain person they had deemed dead...  
  
"Henry..." Reignhardt said slowly, taking a step back. "I thought you said he was dead..."  
  
"I never said such a thing..." Henry answered just as nervous.  
  
"You thought it would be that easy?" Malus shook his head. "That was only the beginning, my friends..."  
  
Reignhardt expected him to laugh scornfully at their foolhardiness, but that didn't come. In fact, the few times he had seen Malus in the past years, he could never remember him ever laughing. He always looked depressed and tragic. It was on some occasions that he would smile, but those occasions came rare indeed.  
  
A blue enery orb appeared in Malus' hand and to the travelers' surprise, it started crackling with electricity.  
  
"Now you shall die."  
  
He shot the orb at Reignhardt, who was knocked off his feet with such force, that he had landed quite a distance away from where he had been. Next, Henry was hit with an electrical force that sent him flying right next to his buddy. But they were both quick to recover. Henry quickly drew his shotgun and aimed at Malus. This time, the bullets mearly exploded before they had touched their victim.  
  
"Care to try again, Oldrey?" Malus asked calmly.  
  
Henry didn't answer. He still had his gun aimed for Malus. After a moment, he shot again. The bullets had once again exploded only inches from Malus. Henry half-heartly reloaded his gun as Malus waited patiently. His dark blue eyes sparkled with curiousity. Henry tried one last time. He aimed at every weak point he could possibly think of. Chest...shoulder...arm...face...hair...ribbon? Still, Malus was unscythed.   
  
Henry hestiated and lowered his gun. Malus shook his head gravely and tsked. "Well..." He said turning to Reignhardt. "How about you Mr. Schneider...?"  
  
Reignhardt looked him solemnly in the eyes, but didn't move. Now how were they suppose to destroy him...? Had Malus actually become invincible?  
  
But there were other questions that wandered Reignhardt's mind. You never knew Malus... He had told him. The one you are after died a long time ago because of your negligence... What had Malus meant? What had Reignhardt done to ignore Malus?  
  
"When I look at your eyes..." Reignhardt started. "I see misery, anger, pain, and a tale of sadness. What had Dracula done to you, Malus?"  
  
Malus sneered as though he had been offended.  
  
"YOU FOOL!" He bellowed. "I AM DRACULA!" The floor vibrated with his anger. Malus conjured another energy orb and flung it at Reignhardt. He dodged just in time. You might already know if you've played the game CastleVania Legacy of Darkness or CastleVania 64, that Carrie's energy orbs are homing orbs. Unfortunately for Reignhardt however, he learned the hard way when the energy orb made a 180 degree turn back towards him.  
  
I guess Malus' past wasn't one of his favorite topics, no? The battle continued. Reignhardt and Henry dodged the attacks the best they could, though the homing orbs made their work particularly difficult. But they had to do more than dodge. They had to figure out away to get past Malus' sheild, and ultimately, defeat him. Reignhardt had just the plan, but it wasn't guaranteed effective. He managed to stay close enough to Henry to fill him in, and Malus' distance certainly wasn't an issue. Thus, Reignhardt's plan was put into effect. Reignhardt charged at Malus with his short sword at hand and Malus knocked him to the side, period. But was that the end? I have my doubts.... Malus looked back in time to see Henry pick Carrie up and try to make a run for it.  
  
"And where do you think you're going?" Malus asked blocking Henry's way. "I am not finished with you yet."  
  
"Oh, but I do believe you are finished..." Henry said.  
  
It took Malus only a moment to realize what had happened, but a moment was all Reignhardt had needed. Malus spun around but it was already too late. Reignhardt's sword pierced through Malus' chest.   
  
"I'm so sorry it had to come to this..." Reignhardt said quietly. "But it had to be done..."  
  
Malus merely glared at him with a look of pure hatred and disgust. Then he smirked. A sinister smirk of triumph before he drew his last breath.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
Back in Wallachia, Reignhardt still pondered about Malus. Had he done something to the boy years ago that effected his future...? It's far too late for apologies... Reignhardt thought, but it would soon become apparent to him that Malus had left his mark. The doctor came out of Carrie's room and faced the two figures waiting with a grim expression. Grim expressions and doctors never get along....  
  
"Carrie is poisoned." The doctor said finally.  
  
"But you gave her an antidote, right?" Henry asked.  
  
The doctor sighed. "Yes, but the poison had already begun to spead through her body over an hour ago. It's quite surprising that she is still alive. The antidote will keep her alive for a little while longer, but that is it. I am sorry."  
  
Henry and Reignhart stood there silently with disbelief. Finally, Reignhardt moved into Carrie's room and Henry followed. She appeared to be asleep, but her eyes opened at the sight of her friends. She looked up at them both and gave them a weak smile.  
  
"You were both wonderful..." She murmured. "Thank you. I would have never made it thus far without your help."  
  
"Carrie..." Henry began.  
  
"Yes, I know. Malus said that he would give me a slow death. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that he is gone for good, and that I got to see you both one last time; And that is enough for me."  
  
Reignhardt held her pale hands tightly. "That is not the end. I will find a cure for you. Even if Henry and I have to search the whole province to do it."  
  
Carrie shook her head. "No, Reignhardt. Let it be."  
  
Before Reignhardt could speak, she repeated.  
  
"Let it be." 


End file.
